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By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

An armed gunman interrupted the evening service on New Year?s Day at Mount Zion UMC in Bel Air, shocking the congregation as he robbed them of an undisclosed amount of cash and valuables.

What shocked the congregation most was the intruder?s use of three children present to gather up the wallets and purses, according to the church?s pastor, the Rev. Craig McLaughlin.

'He had to be desperate to be waving a gun at children,' said McLaughlin, the church?s pastor for the past 19 years. 'That was evil. I was thinking of the Scripture passage, ?The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.? Evil will not stop people from serving God.'

Those thoughts filled McLaughlin?s prayers as he sat in the front pew of the contemporary service, praying for his congregation to remain quiet and calm.

It was shortly after 6:30 p.m. when a man wearing a ski mask and dark clothes burst into the church and began waving a gun around, he said.

The people 'were mature and godly. They did exactly the right things,' McLaughlin said. 'At first, people didn?t know what was going on, but it became evident pretty quickly that this was a robbery; this was real.'

The gunman seemed very nervous, waved the gun around and yelled a great deal, the pastor said. He ordered three brothers, ages 6, 8 and 11, and their father to collect purses and wallets. At least eight of the 50 people present were robbed. After ordering the congregation to the front of the church, the gunman fled and a handful of people called the police on their cell phones.

The incident, police estimate, lasted about 10 minutes.

Before the police arrived, McLaughlin began to lead the congregation in prayer, asking specifically that God would change the heart of their assailant.

Speaking to local and national media, some members of the congregation expressed shock and disbelief and said their congregation would have provided the man with assistance if he had simply asked.

The church is known in the area for its generosity, tithing at least 30 percent of its income to outreach efforts, and building and maintaining an orphanage in Namibia.

In the week following the robbery, some United Methodists in the area have expressed 'fear and concern,' said the Rev. Barry Hidey, pastor of nearby Bel Air UMC.

Some churches are taking precautions, like training ushers in security procedures, and asking church members to leave valuables at home and make their offerings by direct deposit, if it makes them more comfortable.

'The best defense against harm is to have a busy, active church, filled with people who talk to others and meet and talk with people they do not know,' Hidey said.

The Rev. C. Anthony Hunt, superintendent of the Baltimore-Harford District, praised the way the Mt. Zion congregation rallied to demonstrate discipleship following the robbery.

In a letter to the pastors on his district, Hunt shared that there was also a burglary at a parsonage in Baltimore over the Christmas weekend.

'I believe these incidents point to the tremendous pain incumbent in our world, and thus the need for the Resurrected Christ in times like these,' he wrote. 'I encourage you ... to lead your congregation in prayer for all of those affected by these (and other) forms of violence.'

When talking with the media about this event, McLaughlin has shied away from words like 'rallying around,' because they don?t express the faith component that seems to underlie the congregation?s response.

'I feel like this confirms why we do what we do.' McLaughlin said. 'We lift up Jesus. Without Jesus, this is a world where people end up pointing guns at little children. We are not going to give into a spirit of fear.'